2026-05-26

143. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the steps he is taking to ensure that the Government and the Central Bank are acting in accordance with the recommendations set out in the report on the Israeli bond programme of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39701/26]

Israel is still issuing war bonds across the EU and using this money to fund a genocide. While our role in approving these bonds has been moved to Luxembourg, Ireland remains the home member state for Israeli bonds. We have a legal and moral obligation to do everything we can to stop genocide when it is taking place. What action is the Minister taking to ensure we are not complicit in the sale of these bonds and in implementing the recommendations from the committee's report?

I thank an Teachta O’Callaghan very much for the question. I have read the report of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform, and Digitalisation and it has also been reviewed by my officials. It was published last August. It sets out 15 recommendations, some directed to the Central Bank of Ireland and others to the Government. Chief among the recommendations made is that the Government engage at EU level with a view to amending the prospectus regulation. I directed that senior officials in my Department engage with the Commission on this matter. Department officials subsequently liaised with their counterparts in the European Commission, drawing attention to the work of the Oireachtas committee in its report and, in particular, the committee's recommendation that the prospectus regulation be amended. We formally conveyed that as the view of the Oireachtas to the European Commission. This engagement reflected my view that the European Commission should have regard to the report, its findings and recommendations. Officials outlined, in their engagement, recent developments in Ireland and sought the views of the Commission on the possibility of a legislative initiative by the European Commission to address the Oireachtas committee's recommendation. In its response, disappointingly, the EU Commission indicated it currently has no plans for a review of the prospectus regulation. My officials have also engaged with the Central Bank since the report was published. The Central Bank has also reviewed the report's recommendations. It has on a number of occasions, both before the committee and elsewhere, set out its position on the matter. I do not need to remind the Deputy, because he said it, that the Central Bank has no role in the review and approval of the 2025 prospectus for the State of Israel. Ireland is continuing to press for appropriate action at EU level. I support the proposal of the committee, and also the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in response to the egregious Israeli breaches of human rights, international law and democratic principles. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy McEntee, indicated in the Dáil last week that she will advance the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory Bill in the coming weeks, and she secured Cabinet approval on that today. Our Taoiseach also wrote to European Council President Costa on 20 May reiterating Ireland's position on EU trade with Israel and requesting an urgent discussion of these issues among EU leaders at the next meeting of the European Council. Perhaps on foot of this question, I will brief the Taoiseach on the committee recommendation before that Council meeting.

I thank the Tánaiste for his response and for the work that has been done on this. What he said earlier, in response to a different question from a different Deputy, was that while we are part of the EU, we do not simply do what it tells us. Rather, we are part of shaping what it does. Clearly, therefore, the response from the European Commission is not satisfactory and is not in line with what we want as a country. What is the Tánaiste going to do to follow up with the European Commission on this? It saying it has no plans to do anything about this simply is not acceptable. We need to do as much as possible in Ireland and more broadly in the EU to address this. We cannot have a situation where bonds are being sold in Europe that have been marketed by Israel to fund its war and genocide. What follow-up action is the Minister taking with the European Commission to push it into acting on this, because its response simply is not acceptable?

I agree with that. What I will do is raise it at a political level as well. We have been raising it at an official level. I have directed my officials on a number of occasions on back-and-forth engagement with the Commission on this. I will speak to the Taoiseach as well because I know he has rightly sought a conversation at the European Council on foot of Israel's egregious breaches of international law. That is due to be scheduled for 18 and 19 June. I have examined whether Ireland can do something domestically because I know we have had debates in this House on the matter, but the clear, solid view is that national measures could not allow for the Central Bank to refuse a prospectus because the requirements of the EU prospectus regulation have to be met, including the standards of completeness, consistency and comprehensibility. We need to respect EU law, but I take the point that we also have a role in shaping it. There are different views across the EU on this matter, although I really hope it can be addressed, particularly after the horrors we saw in relation to the flotilla. It should not have taken that at all, nor should it have happened. If that is how Israel treats European citizens, it gives a real insight into how it must treat Palestinians.

I thank the Tánaiste. Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, clearly stated, “International law says that all financial actors have to abstain from being directly linked to human rights crimes”. That applies to the financial actors and authorities in Ireland, Luxembourg and across the European Union. I welcome the Minister saying he is going to raise this at a political level. What does that mean? I welcome that he is going to raise it with the Taoiseach. Who is the Minister going to talk to and when? Will he give us details of the timeline for his plans to raise this at a political level?

That is a fair point. I will correspond directly with the relevant European Commissioner in the first instance, following up on the official engagement and reflecting the view of the Oireachtas committee on the prospectus regulation. I also do not rule out having further political engagement with EU counterparts on this. What is clear, and I know there are strong views on this issue in this House and in this country, is that sometimes there can be a grey area and we can debate how much is in compliance with EU law and how much we can do domestically. On this matter, solidly, the EU treaties and the obligations of member states seem to necessitate any change happening at an EU regulatory level. In the first instance, I will personally correspond with the European Commissioner and will update the Deputy when I receive a response.